


Hollow Victory

by Eleanorose123



Series: Shrimpshipping Week Summer 2018 [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Loss, M/M, Regret, Seal of Orichalcos, everybody hop on the orichalcos angst train
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-10 21:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15300492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleanorose123/pseuds/Eleanorose123
Summary: In which Ryuzaki won his duel against Jounouchi but finds his victory to be hollow without someone by his side.Day 1 entry for Shrimpshipweek Summer 2018: "What If" AU.





	Hollow Victory

**Author's Note:**

> First day of Shrimpshipweek heck yeah! I actually wrote a good number of fics for this week, since it was mainly themed around AUs. So stay tuned for those! But in regards to this one, the prompt was a "What If" AU, in regards to "what if one canon thing changed". I've always wanted to play around with this idea anyway so it was a good chance to take advantage of it!
> 
> So enjoy this AU where Ryuzaki won Jounouchi's soul after episode 162. He's happy...right?

Ryuzaki stared through the window of the helicopter, a twisted grin on his face. Gazing down to the desert landscape, he watched Jounouchi’s soulless body be carried across the train tracks by his still crying friend. He couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the pathetic display until it faded from his view.

“Are you always like this, or has it just been _that long_ since you actually _won_ a duel?” Amelda commented as he drove the copter from the seat next to Ryuzaki. He had no strong emotions to the outcome; Jounouchi’s soul being taken was an accomplishment for sure, but it wasn’t like Amelda had much disdain for the duelist in question. Not like the boy next to him did.

“Let me have this.” Ryuzaki sneered and pulled out a card from his pocket to wave around. “Especially since the boss is going to _love_ me for getting him one of those rare dragon cards you all babble on about.”

“The sooner Hermos is out of your grubby little hands, the better.” Amelda gritted through his teeth. Fate played a weird hand of cards for letting a lowly, incompetent fool like Ryuzaki not only obtain the Orichalcos, but _win_ with it. But then again, maybe the winning streak Doma has been having was a good thing. Especially considering Amelda’s plans on a next move…

“You lot can have this loser card.” Ryuzaki took out another loose card from his pocket. “But I’m _definitely_ keeping this loser _in_ a card.”

It was a weird sight to say the least; seeing one’s hated rival on a piece of paper. But the more Ryuzaki stared at Jounouchi’s pained face being sealed by the Orichalcos mark, the more he chose not to care about such things. He had won. Despite the odds, he had _won_ , and Ryuzaki would be damned if anyone would take that feeling from him again.

Amelda glanced over and raised a brow. “Not many people choose to keep an Orichalcos card with a soul in it. It tends to create… _regrets_.”

“I ain’t many people.”

“That goes without saying.”

“Ah, you wouldn’t understand this stuff.” Ryuzaki slouched in his seat, his hat covering his eyes. He didn’t get much sleep the past few days and could honestly use the rest, but the adrenaline from the duel was keeping him awake. He could still feel the lingering spark of the Orichalcos flow through him. It hurt, but in a “this power is good for you” type of way. “This guy, Jounouchi, he made my life _hell_. And now he’s _gone_ , and _I’m_ on top. This is a high I’m not letting go, and keeping this card is the way to do it.”  

“I couldn’t imagine.” Amelda rolled his eyes. He could’ve entertained the idea of actually letting the teen know the horrors Amelda went through in his youth thanks to the Kaiba Corporation, but it wasn’t worth it. _Ryuzaki_ wasn’t worth it.

“N’ah, of course you couldn’t.” Ryuzaki scoffed. “The only one who could is Haga, and you know it’ll take a force stronger than the Orichalcos to take the Pharaoh’s soul away from that guy now that he’s got it. He’s even more revenge crazed than I am.”

“…oh. I guess you wouldn’t know.”

Ryuzaki didn’t like the flat tone Amelda used. Sitting upright (and noticing they had entered city limits) he stared at the other. “…Wouldn’t know _what?_ ”

“That friend of yours lost. His soul is Dartz’ now.” Amelda gave Ryuzaki a cold glance. “I guess we _both_ don’t really know things, now do we?”

-

Mai had practically sprinted when she heard the news. She ran down the corridors of the Doma building, trying to find the room she was after. The _person_ she was after. A person she couldn’t believe had done what he did. Arriving at her destination, she slammed the door closed behind her to leave her with her target.

“ _You_ took Jounouchi’s soul?!” she yelled. Ryuzaki sat in a chair across the room, lying down on the table. His eyes opened up slowly and followed to the sound of Mai’s voice. “You, of all people! What, was Jounouchi asleep the whole duel, cause that’s the only explanation I can think of!”

“Quit yelling.” He muttered and turned away from the woman. “I’m the only one trying to sleep here.”

“Don’t try to worm out of this, you twerp.” Mai grabbed his collar and pulled him upright in his chair, getting a groan in annoyance as a response. “You’re just a goddamn liar trying to get attention for being a complete and utter-“

“You want your proof? _Take it_.”

Mai reacted quickly to something being tossed at her, and caught a card between her fingers. It was unlike a regular duel monsters card; it radiated warmth. Inspecting it, Mai felt her heart stop for a moment.

“Jounouchi…”

Ryuzaki slouched down in his seat and looked away from the other. “The one and only.” He said, with no energy in his voice at all. “To answer your questions; I won the duel. He lost his soul. Doma won, woohoo. Now get out of here already.”

Mai bit her lip. She wanted this…she was so _certain_ she had wanted this. But having the card actually be in her hands made her think otherwise. Maybe it was because Jounouchi had been her friend once, or maybe it was because she hadn’t taken it herself, but the whole thing felt _wrong_ to her. No words could explain how she felt in that moment, not that she wanted to share it with her company anyway.

“You…you must feel great for this, huh?” She managed to choke out. _No weakness_ , she thought to herself, _not in front of this loser_. “You finally got your victory. Your revenge.”

“Yeah, sure.” Ryuzaki spoke quietly, lying back down on the table and burying his face in his arms. “I’m on top of the world right now.”

“…sure.” Mai was puzzled from the response, and wanting a distraction from her conflicting feelings anyway, she grew curious. “What’s _wrong_ with you anyway? You beat your all time rival, not that he ever felt the same about you.”

“He was just an annoying duelist with a luck streak. I’ve lost to others better than him y’know.” He shifted in his seat, fists clenching at the thought of one in particular.

She paused and thought for a moment, not knowing a lot about Ryuzaki to think of other duelists he’s faced. One came to mind however. “Well, I guess since that gross and pathetic parasite went and lost his soul, you’ve technically beaten him too-“

“Shut up! Don’t you dare bring Haga into this!” Ryuzaki snapped, pushing himself out of his seat, anger giving him motivation. “Just cause he lost to the Pharaoh doesn’t make him pathetic, and it doesn’t make me better than him, _got it_!”

Mai was a bit stunned from the intense response. She was quite certain the two former champions never considered each other as friends, and yet here Ryuzaki was defending Haga when he didn’t need to. A most curious notion indeed.

“I never realized you cared for him.”

“Well I-“ Ryuzaki stopped. Mai watched his eyes go from intense anger to that of a scared child. “I…I _care_ …a bit, but…”

Mai felt a strong sense of empathy wash over her, as the once angry duelist clung to himself to try and stop shaking. She was starting to piece together everything, from his actions, to why he had locked himself away in the first place. Looking down at the card in her hand, Mai walked closer to Ryuzaki and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You miss Haga, don’t you?” Ryuzaki pulled his hat down and gave a weak nod.

“It wasn’t supposed to go like this…we were supposed to win _together_. I was supposed to come back here and have that guy laugh in my face over how long it took for me to win. That he had beaten the Pharaoh _hours_ ago, and was getting bored waiting for me. It never crossed my mind that I could win and he wouldn’t. I was supposed to tell him that I-” Ryuzaki bit his lip down hard and took a sharp breath. Mai clearly could tell from the tone of the boy’s voice he was trying not to cry. “I’m just having a hard time accepting it is all.”

“…I can understand that sort of thing.” She whispered. Mai looked from Ryuzaki to Jounouchi’s face on the card. It was pained, but she could tell that the look on his face wasn’t just from his soul being taken from his body. Jounouchi was pained he couldn’t help a kid like Ryuzaki pull through the darkness of his heart. _That was just the type of person Jounouchi was_ , she thought.

“I just want to see him again.” Ryuzaki muttered. “No one ever told me what happened to Haga, I don’t even know where he…where his body is now.”

Mai thought hard for a moment, staring at Jounouchi’s card before making a decision. She squeezed Ryuzaki’s shoulder.

“Come with me.”

-

It wasn’t a lot, but Mai had found through Raphael what happened after the Pharaoh dueled Haga. The train had crashed off the tracks without the Orichalcos user’s presence to keep it on course.  They had no clue where the Pharaoh or Anzu had gone, but Raphael told her that Haga’s body had been taken to a hospital before he could get to it. She grimaced, knowing full well even if he did find the body first, it wasn’t like Raphael would do anything to help the corpse of a fourteen year old.

She rode down the streets as fast as she could, only paying little attention to the intense grip around her waist. Ryuzaki clung to her for dear life, not used to being on a motorcycle, let alone at high speeds. He was honestly starting to regret his decision for going with her, but a memory of a certain insect duelist kept him determined to follow through.

Arriving at the hospital felt like a blur to him though. Ryuzaki barely listened to Mai asking the staff about where to go, and followed her in silence when they were told. The closer they got the room, the faster his pace went, and before long Ryuzaki all but ran in front of Mai to find what they were after.

When he did, everything felt cold.

Lying on the white sheets of the hospital bed was Haga, his eyes closed and his breathing light. His face had a number of bandages on it, undoubtedly injuries taken from the fall, and Ryuzaki wondered just how bad those injuries were underneath the sheet covering him. How much agony his friend would’ve been in if his soul was still there.

But it wasn’t. Haga’s soul was gone and Ryuzaki didn’t even need to know about the Orichalcos to tell someone that. All the drive, the passion, the life in other boy was vacant, leaving only a hollow body. The light rise and fall of the chest may indicate breathing but everything else about Haga was just… _dead_.

“I’m sorry.” Mai spoke quietly from the entranceway, giving Ryuzaki the space he needs. She watched him slowly approach the other’s bed shakingly, before his legs just gave out under him and fell to the floor. “This is as much closure as I can help you with.”

Ryuzaki couldn’t look away from the bed, from the near still body of Haga. He moved closer, and despite everything, he let out a soft laugh.

“Yeah. This- this is definitely closure. Nothing like seeing a dead body to accept that someone’s gone.”

“He could come back.” Mai said. She wasn’t even quite sure if it was only Ryuzaki she was talking to anymore. “Dartz could let his soul go when his big plan is done. When the world is ours. It could be payment for our- for your services.”

“I could cling to that bit of hope.” Ryuzaki moved the sheet covering Haga’s body down a bit. He noted the bandages wrapped around the other’s arm, and gently raised it to rest above the covers, taking Haga’s hand in his own. “It’d be nice…ruling alongside him when it’s all done. I’d actually prefer it.”

“…I never realized you two were so close.” _Not that I ever cared before now_ , she added in her head.

“There’s a lot people don’t realize about us. About him.” Ryuzaki spoke softly, his gaze turning soft. “Did you know he actually felt bad for Yugi? For losing his soul in the Pharaoh’s place?”

“No. I thought he was ecstatic for that.” Mai took a few steps into the room, sitting down in a chair by the corner. She could entertain the youth for a while if it helped him cope. “I thought Yugi was to him what Jounouchi was to you.”

“Yeah, well, that was before we found out there were _two_ Yugis.” He laughed. “It wasn’t a big thing, but after we were briefed on the whole Millennium item situation, Haga just pulled me over to the side and told me how he wished he knew about that sort of thing sooner. He’d been plotting revenge on the wrong guy the whole time.”

“Did he have some sort of wall of photos of Yugi he crossed out the eyes for in hatred?”

“Not that I know of, but I wouldn’t put it past him honestly.” Ryuzaki sighed. “It’s not like he likes Yugi much anyway, but he did tell me the whole sacrifice thing was tragic in its own right. I know it doesn’t seem like it much to you, but Haga does have a heart. Twisted, and a bit sadistic, but a heart none the less…”

Ryuzaki let his thumb stroke the other’s hand at the thought. There was so much to Haga he knew that others didn’t. Small things, like favorite places to go when he’s thinking about something, to bigger things, like his favorite places to go hide away in when he doesn’t want anyone to see him cry. There was more he wanted to learn about Haga too. There was still so much Ryuzaki wanted to discover over time.

And now that time was cut short.

“Mai…I wanna thank you for doing this for me, but…” For the first time since they entered the room, Ryuzaki looked at Mai. She saw a few tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “Could you leave now…please?”

She sighed, but silently got up and left, leaving him alone. Ryuzaki waited for a moment before letting the tears fall down his face freely. Turning back to Haga, he held his hand a little tighter.

“Just us now…the usual.” Ryuzaki spoke quietly, trying to keep his voice stable. “I dunno if you can hear me or not, or if I’m supposed to go to that place Dartz keeps all the souls? You know, the weird place we saw on the screen? Anyway, I just- I just need to say some things, I guess. Let the emotions out and all that sappy stuff. And well- I know this wasn’t the way I was supposed to tell you but…”

Ryuzaki lifted the cold hand and gave it a light kiss. “I love you too. I know back on the train I promised I’d give you my answer when we both came out victorious, but honestly? I don’t think either of us predicted _this_ outcome. Well, you might’ve guessed _I_ wouldn’t have made it but…” He laughed. “Actually, you probably _did_ think that, didn’t you? That’s why you kissed me like you had nothing to lose, cause you didn’t. Hell, my brain was so scrambled I could’ve lost my duel just cause of that! You cheat; you tried to distract me didn’t you?”

Ryuzaki’s laughter was light but genuine at the thought. Although it brought him great pain at hearing it amidst the silent room and not having Haga be able to laugh back to him. That pain made his tears fall harder and his voice get more ragged.

“You’re a _jerk_ , you know that? Telling me you loved me and then leaving me like this? I can’t believe you.” He sniffed, smile fading. “How am I supposed feel victory if I’ve already lost _everything_? You asshole, you- you absolute _idiot!_ ”

He was gone, the last word was all it took for Ryuzaki to full on break down and sob. He cried harder than he ever had before; no pain could compare to losing Haga. His one friend, his one ally, his one love.

Mai stood outside the doorway and listened to the pitiful sounds, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she continued to stare at the Orichalcos card in her hand. She decided in that moment it was time to act on her conflicting emotions, and took to leaving the building.

Doma could go to hell. It wasn’t going to take away another person’s soul on her watch.

**Author's Note:**

> If I went further on with this, Ryuzaki would've challenged the Pharaoh to a duel in revenge, with the mindset of not caring if he won or lost cause he hates everything at this point.


End file.
